Multi-lidar wind resource mapping in complex terrain

<p>Scanning Doppler lidars have great potential for reducing uncertainty of wind resource estimation in complex terrain. Due to their scanning capabilities, they can measure at multiple locations over large areas. We demonstrate this ability with dual-Doppler lidar measurements of flow over tw...

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Main Authors: R. Menke, N. Vasiljević, J. Wagner, S. P. Oncley, J. Mann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2020-08-01
Series:Wind Energy Science
Online Access:https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/5/1059/2020/wes-5-1059-2020.pdf
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author R. Menke
N. Vasiljević
J. Wagner
S. P. Oncley
J. Mann
author_facet R. Menke
N. Vasiljević
J. Wagner
S. P. Oncley
J. Mann
author_sort R. Menke
collection DOAJ
description <p>Scanning Doppler lidars have great potential for reducing uncertainty of wind resource estimation in complex terrain. Due to their scanning capabilities, they can measure at multiple locations over large areas. We demonstrate this ability with dual-Doppler lidar measurements of flow over two parallel ridges. The data have been collected using two pairs of scanning lidars operated in a dual-Doppler mode during the Perdigão 2017 measurement campaign. There the scanning lidars mapped the flow 80&thinsp;m above ground level along two ridges, which are considered favorable for wind turbine siting. The measurements are validated with sonic wind measurements at each ridge. By analyzing the collected data, we found that wind speeds are on average 10&thinsp;% higher over the southwest ridge compared to the northeast ridge. At the southwest ridge, the data show, for approach flow normal to the ridge, a change of 20&thinsp;% in wind speed along the ridge. Fine differences like these are difficult to reproduce with computational flow models, as we demonstrate by comparing the lidar measurements with Weather Research and Forecasting large-eddy simulation (WRF-LES) results. For the measurement period, we have simulated the flow over the site using WRF-LES to compare how well the model can capture wind resources along the ridges. We used two model configurations. In the first configuration, surface drag is based purely on aerodynamic roughness, whereas in the second configuration forest canopy drag is also considered. We found that simulated winds are underestimated in WRF-LES runs with forest drag due to an unrealistic forest distribution on the ridge tops. The correlation of simulated and observed winds is, however, improved when the forest parameterization is applied. WRF-LES results without forest drag overestimated the wind resources over the southwest and northeast ridges by 6.5&thinsp;% and 4.5&thinsp;%, respectively. Overall, this study demonstrates the ability of scanning lidars to map wind resources in complex terrain.</p>
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spelling doaj.art-e53346cafa734330a45308515ca6ed1a2022-12-21T22:53:56ZengCopernicus PublicationsWind Energy Science2366-74432366-74512020-08-0151059107310.5194/wes-5-1059-2020Multi-lidar wind resource mapping in complex terrainR. Menke0N. Vasiljević1J. Wagner2S. P. Oncley3J. Mann4Technical University of Denmark – DTU Wind Energy, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, DenmarkTechnical University of Denmark – DTU Wind Energy, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, DenmarkDeutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen, GermanyNational Center for Atmospheric Research, Earth Observing Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USATechnical University of Denmark – DTU Wind Energy, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark<p>Scanning Doppler lidars have great potential for reducing uncertainty of wind resource estimation in complex terrain. Due to their scanning capabilities, they can measure at multiple locations over large areas. We demonstrate this ability with dual-Doppler lidar measurements of flow over two parallel ridges. The data have been collected using two pairs of scanning lidars operated in a dual-Doppler mode during the Perdigão 2017 measurement campaign. There the scanning lidars mapped the flow 80&thinsp;m above ground level along two ridges, which are considered favorable for wind turbine siting. The measurements are validated with sonic wind measurements at each ridge. By analyzing the collected data, we found that wind speeds are on average 10&thinsp;% higher over the southwest ridge compared to the northeast ridge. At the southwest ridge, the data show, for approach flow normal to the ridge, a change of 20&thinsp;% in wind speed along the ridge. Fine differences like these are difficult to reproduce with computational flow models, as we demonstrate by comparing the lidar measurements with Weather Research and Forecasting large-eddy simulation (WRF-LES) results. For the measurement period, we have simulated the flow over the site using WRF-LES to compare how well the model can capture wind resources along the ridges. We used two model configurations. In the first configuration, surface drag is based purely on aerodynamic roughness, whereas in the second configuration forest canopy drag is also considered. We found that simulated winds are underestimated in WRF-LES runs with forest drag due to an unrealistic forest distribution on the ridge tops. The correlation of simulated and observed winds is, however, improved when the forest parameterization is applied. WRF-LES results without forest drag overestimated the wind resources over the southwest and northeast ridges by 6.5&thinsp;% and 4.5&thinsp;%, respectively. Overall, this study demonstrates the ability of scanning lidars to map wind resources in complex terrain.</p>https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/5/1059/2020/wes-5-1059-2020.pdf
spellingShingle R. Menke
N. Vasiljević
J. Wagner
S. P. Oncley
J. Mann
Multi-lidar wind resource mapping in complex terrain
Wind Energy Science
title Multi-lidar wind resource mapping in complex terrain
title_full Multi-lidar wind resource mapping in complex terrain
title_fullStr Multi-lidar wind resource mapping in complex terrain
title_full_unstemmed Multi-lidar wind resource mapping in complex terrain
title_short Multi-lidar wind resource mapping in complex terrain
title_sort multi lidar wind resource mapping in complex terrain
url https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/5/1059/2020/wes-5-1059-2020.pdf
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AT nvasiljevic multilidarwindresourcemappingincomplexterrain
AT jwagner multilidarwindresourcemappingincomplexterrain
AT sponcley multilidarwindresourcemappingincomplexterrain
AT jmann multilidarwindresourcemappingincomplexterrain